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First official European visit to Benghazi… Poland marks its entry

The minister getting off the official plane in Benghazi (credit: Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

(BRUSSELS2) A good shot! The visit made by the Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, on 11 May to Benghazi (Libya), to the headquarters of the National Transitional Council, is an important symbol for Poland - which will chair the European Union from July - as for the CNT, which thus collects an additional label of credibility. The NTC is " recognized by the European Union and a large part of the international community as an ideal partner for political contacts in Libya commented the spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marcin Bosacki. We thus want express political support for the vision of Libya's future proposed by the Libyan Council, with the construction of a modern and democratic society and state " he added.

A first state visit, with the agreement of the High Representative

This is the first state visit by a minister from the Contact Group on Libya since the start of the conflict in that country. A journey that has been made in agreement with the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Lady Ashton, and the NATO allies “says one on the Polish side. It is also Poland's first strong public intervention on Libya. The country has so far remained relatively discreet, even downright reserved, in its infancy, both on the military intervention and the CNT.

The Polish minister met with representatives of the Interim National Council, including its president Mustafa Abdul Jalil, and visited one of the city's hospitals. This visit was, in fact, also an opportunity to send Polish aid for the treatment of the wounded from the fighting in Misrata and other towns.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy had planned to visit the city with Prime Minister Cameron. The visit of the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, reputed to be close to the British (and the Americans), toasts this "first". It is above all a sign of additional recognition for the CNT and an evolution of Libya in the political arena.

(credit: Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs / PAP)

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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